Teaser

Before the Horus Heresy, before even the Imperium itself, there was Terra. A world ravaged by war, ruled by warlords, and crying out in despair. Earth needs heroes, but all it has are conquerors . . .

Review

Despite bearing the Horus Heresy banner on the cover, Valdor: Birth of the Imperium is actually set well before that narrative. To the best of my knowledge, it pushes the Warhammer timeline back further than any other story. Predating even a unified Terra, Valdor is the story of the Emperor’s rise to dominance, as viewed by those around him. if you want a deeper examination of some of the franchise’s most famous names, you won’t find it here. What you will find is a fascinating piece of history, wrapped up in an exciting narrative of its own.

To an extent, it’s difficult to think of this as a Warhammer novel. So few of the familiar aspects are on display. There are no xenos, no Astra Militarum, no Chaos. There is a brief mention of a rogue trader, and the climactic battle sees the first appearance of a Warhammer 40,000 icon, but most of this book takes place before anyone has even heard of a space marine, or a psyker, or anything like that.

What we have instead is a book that feels more post-apocalyptic than anything else. Names of real-life mountains, cities, countries, and continents all feature in the background as our world slowly gives way to the fiction of Warhammer. We can see the Emperor reshaping reality before our very eyes. Yet for all that, we spend most of our time with a weary politician, skulking in the shadows as the new regime takes hold. Aside from the odd chapter, the action takes place wholly in or around the fortress that will one day be the Imperial City.

Then we have the narration. I expect most people will know Stephen Pacey as the narrator of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law, but to me he will always be Del Tarrant. His narration is never less than fantastic, and a handful of additional voices flesh out the cast. Using other narrators to perform interviews as a frame for the flashbacks is a masterful idea, and brings the story alive. I don’t always enjoy multiple readers in one book, but Black Library have a knack for putting together teams that really pull it off.

As a piece of Warhammer history, Valdor: Birth of the Imperium is absolutely fascinating. It’s a book that pushes the boundaries of the franchise, and goes places you might not expect. I wouldn’t want every book to be like this, but here it all works marvellously.

Audio Stats

• Performed by Steven Pacey, Jonathan Keeble, Katy Maw, Toby Longworth
• Published by Black Library in 2020
• Runtime: 6hrs 16 mins